Michael J. Fox praises his wife amid Parkinson's battle: 'It’s really great to have a partner'

22 November 2020

Michael J. Fox feels “really great to have a partner” in his wife Tracy Pollan, who has been supporting him throughout his Parkinson’s disease.

Tracy Pollan and Michael J. Fox

The 59-year-old actor was diagnosed with Parkinson’s - which affects the brain and causes problems like shaking and stiffness - in 1991, and has heaped praise on his wife Tracy for sticking by his side ever since.

He said: “We didn’t know what to expect. One of the things I’ll always love Tracy for is that at that moment, she didn’t blink. It’s really great to have a partner.

“She’s there in the front lines with me every single day. She never pretends to know as much as I know. And the other thing Tracy does is, if there’s something funny, let’s get to the funny. We’ll deal with the tragic later.

“I just picture her talking to me, like, ‘So anyway, I’m going to the store, and oh, you’ve fallen down. Okay, I’m going to the market, I’m getting - are you okay? Okay, so I’m getting cheese, and I’m getting bread, I’m getting baguettes. Don’t get up. Just stay there for a second. I’m taking the station wagon. Not that you care.’ ”

Michael and his wife set up the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research since his diagnosis, and the ‘Back to the Future’ star can’t believe the impact the foundation has had.

He added: “We started the foundation literally with nothing. We got the best people on it doing the best work they can, as quickly as they can.

“We’ve been responsible for 17 active therapies that are now being used that were never thought of before. We funded $1 billion in research. This is our 20th year. If we knew it was gonna be 2020, we would’ve started a year earlier or a year later because this year really blows.”

The actor also joked about being asked how he’s feeling amid his health battle.

Speaking during an appearance on ‘Sunday Today’, he said: “Sometimes I want to go, like, ‘Really? You wanna know? Pull up a chair. I’ll give you 45 minutes of it.’ If you want the short answer, I’m feeling great.

“Optimism is a choice. But in a way, it isn’t. There’s no other choice. I don’t think there’s any other viable choice than to hope for the best and work toward it.”